A Torrey Pines High School student had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent an hour after a Sunday morning crash that claimed the life of one classmate and seriously injured another.

At a brief hearing in juvenile court Wednesday morning, Deputy District Attorney Aimee McLeod also said that California Highway Patrol investigators are awaiting test results to confirm their suspicion that there were other “illegal substances” in the youth's system at the time.

The student, who is 17, was charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated and two counts of drunken driving causing injury. He entered the juvenile court equivalent of not-guilty pleas.

A blood-alcohol level of 0.10 exceeds the 0.08 legal limit for adult drivers in California.

The District Attorney's Office will not file charges in adult court, meaning the case will remain under the authority of the juvenile system, where the emphasis is placed on rehabilitation and punishments are typically less severe.

It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune not to identify defendants in juvenile court.

Killed in the crash was Alex Capozza, 17. Three others were in the car and at least one remains hospitalized with head injuries. CHP investigators said the group had been drinking at a party and the crash occurred when the driver, who was speeding, lost control of the car as it sped down La Granada near Rambla de las Flores in Rancho Santa Fe.

Superior Court Judge George “Woody” Clarke ordered the youth to remain in Juvenile Hall while the case proceeds. The youth's lawyer, Robert Bourne, has argued that he should be allowed to go home under house arrest instead of staying in the hall.

With the boy's parents sitting quietly in the front row of the courtroom, Bourne described him as a an excellent student with a perfect attendance record who has not had any problems with administrators or teachers.

The youth is an accomplished lacrosse player as well, and he has no criminal history.

“This is something completely out of left field, as far as conduct is concerned,” Bourne told Clarke, referring to the fatal crash.

Yet McLeod told Clarke the youth told investigators the night of the crash that he had stopped smoking marijuana two months ago because his parents were regularly drug-testing him.

Clarke decided that in order to protect other people and property, and for the protection of the youth himself, he should remain in Juvenile Hall. He set another hearing in the case for Oct. 19.

The youth's parents did not speak during the hearing and left the courthouse without commenting.

The dark-haired teenager sat quietly next to Bourne during the hearing, clad in an orange T-shirt from Juvenile Hall. His wrists were shackled to a waist chain.

His potential punishment, if convicted, can vary widely, from being sentenced to a juvenile camp for a period of time, to having to complete rehabilitative programs, or a combination of both. McLeod, citing the confidentiality of juvenile proceedings, declined outside of court to explain why the youth was charged as a juvenile and why prosecutors did not seek to have the case sent to adult court.